Hello Friend
by Colie88
Summary: Ziva's in the hospital trying to recover from being shot- twice. Once by the suspect. Once by Tony's stray bullet. Tony is waiting to see her. Could be read as stand alone, but goes with story "One Step At A Time" Missing scene between chapters 9 and 10.


_The first part of this you'll recognize from the chapter of One Step At A Time...... I copied it in there so that it would make sense if read as stand alone! Here you go!! Enjoy._

_True to fashion, this has a song to go with. I've given the song. _

_I just omitted the lyrics from the chapter._

_**Song: "Hello Friend"- S Club 7 ( I mentioned I was on an "oldies" kick didn't I?) **__Please download it or listen to it somehow....That would make my day! _

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The flurry of panic hit him the second he stepped off the elevator to her floor. He could hear machines going off and watched as nurses and doctors ran in and out of one specific room. That patient must have it bad, he thought. He looked at the room numbers going down the halll, towards the chaos. He stopped dead and glaced at his hand where the room number was written.

The chaos was comming from Ziva's room.

Shit. Now what?

He looked around, watched a crash cart be wheeled into the room, saw many people rush in and out of the room, and all he could think of was that Ziva wasn't going to make it after all. There was somethng wrong, something they couldn't fix. God, what was he going to do without her? He realized he had been rooted to the same spot for at least five minutes, staring at the scene before him and he hadn't even seen the actual action yet!!

He wasn't sure he even wanted to look in the room. Where was Gibbs when he was needed? Coffee run, most him and his coffee! As Tony neared the room, the action seemed to slow, even stop. It was like a bad suspense moment in a movie and he couldn't help but wonder whether it was a horror movie when one of the important characters die or if it was a romance movie where the significant other was perfectly fine and the producers were trying to keep the auidence in fear just a bit longer. As a nurse came out, Tony grabbed her arm, desperate for information on what was going on.

"What happened, is she alright?" Tony gestured towards Ziva's room. He could here things going on, and it sent odd, unnamed feelings through his veins.

It must have been the look on his face or possibly the tone of his voice that caused her to give him a pitying look and stop what she was doing. "I'm sorry, sir, I cannot say at the moment. If your family you should go to the end of the hall to the waiting room. I'll send someone to inform you of the situation as it arises."

Tony swallowed and nodded. All he wanted was a peek. A small look to see if she was alright... hoping the heart monitor hadn't gone off, but the presence of a crash cart didnt help ease that thought. As he walked past slowly, he glanced into the room but got nothing but a mass of people shouting over the sounds of the monitors.

Damn.

He paced the waiting room, a clear veiw of Ziva's door within his sight. As the time passed, he noticed the traffic in and out of her room dwindled. That was good, right? And where was Gibbs? Had he seen Ziva before the monitors went off and gone back? Maybe, but wouldn't Gibbs had told him too? Tony growled in frustration as he waited yet another hour. Finally, when he saw no one go into her room for the better part of an hour, he went to the nurses desk, demanding information.

"Are you-"

"Yes... Family. I'm family. Would I still be here if I wasn't?" Tony demanded. He hated that question and vowed someday years from now, he would make that damned question have an honest answer.

"Alright, calm down. Ms. David-"

"DA-Veed," Tony corrected. After correcting Ziva on her english all the time, it was automatic to correct anyone.

"Right.. well, when she came in, she needed a blood transfusion. Sometimes the body rejects the blood. We never know exactly why, but it could be one or many different things.-"

"Ok, fine.. but is she alright? She's....alive, right?"

The nurse shut the chart and nodded. "Yes, but I'm afraid that visting hours-"

Tony ignored her and moved down the hall to her room, desperate to see her for himself. He knew he had it bad for his Mossad partner, but he wouldn't let her know that. When he walked in, he was surprised to find her awake. At least she looked awake.

"Tony," she said relief in her voice.

He almost lost his train of thought- and footing- when she spoke. "Hey, how you feeling?"

"Like a buldozer crushed me."

Tony nodded, standing next to her bed, Ziva looking up at him. "I'm sorry-"

"Do not, Tony. I don't want to hear it."

The tone of her voice surprised him. Was she angery? It didn't sound like it. Understanding? Possibly... but he doubted it. Maybe she thought he was going to apologize for something else other than shooting her? At least she was alive, something that he was extremely glad to see. Wow.. he really did have it bad for her.

"Alright....I've got to call McGee, get the latest on the case. But, I'll see you soon."

She nodded, not having the slightest clue that Tony had no intention of never coming back to the hospital as long as she was stuck in that bed. She returned his smile and watched as he left, immediately letting a small tear escape.

She was in so much pain that it wasn't funny. Her veins felt on fire, her side and stomach as well. There was also a really uncomfortable feeling in her gut, but those just might be the staples. Calming herself, she closed her eyes, wanting sleep to claim her so she did not have to feel the burning sensation in her side.

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_So.. there it is... the "missing" chapter from One Step At A Time. It took me forever to figure out what to name it as a stand alone until I realized that the song title for the chapter would work really well. Rewiew if you'd like...! :D_


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